How to Remove Blue or Green Hair Dye from Hair Without Bleaching

This article was co-authored by Ashley Adams. Ashley Adams is a Licensed Cosmetologist and Hair Stylist in Illinois. She completed her Cosmetology education at John Amico School of Hair Design in 2016.

There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

While you may have enjoyed your blue or green (maybe even blue and green) hair, you've decided it's time for a change. You can always go to a salon to correct the color. However, if you prefer to fade the color yourself, then there are several strategies you can try using easy to find products, some of which you may already have. Whatever strategy you choose, keep in mind that fading your hair color may take some time.

Decide if a clarifying shampoo will work for you. Clarifying shampoo is a great way to fade semi-permanent dyes. However, if you used a permanent dye, then using a clarifying shampoo may not be powerful enough to make a difference. This method may fade permanent dye a little, but it will take longer to do so.

Can you please put wikiHow on the whitelist for your ad blocker? wikiHow relies on ad money to give you our free how-to guides. Learn how.

Buy a clarifying shampoo. You will need to buy a clarifying shampoo that is not recommended for use on dyed hair. This type of shampoo will help to strip your hair of the dyed color. You will also need conditioner. This can also be on the cheaper end of the conditioner spectrum.[1]

Suave Daily Clarifying is a good shampoo to use.

If your hair tends to be dry or unmanageable, you should buy a deep conditioner that will give your hair the nutrients it needs.

Use warm water to wet your hair. Make the water as warm as you can stand it. Warm water opens up hair follicles and cuticles making them more receptive to being stripped of the dye. Get your hair thoroughly wet with the water before shampooing.

Lather with the clarifying shampoo. Pour a quarter sized amount of shampoo in your hand and apply it to your hair. Use your fingertips to give your head a good scrub. Squeeze off any excess foam (which should be the color of the dye you are removing). Make sure your hair is thoroughly coated in the shampoo, but do not rinse yet!

Clip your hair up. If you have short hair, you can leave it down. Place a bath towel around your shoulders that you don't really care about (the shampoo and dye will run and could potentially get on your towel).

Place a plastic shower cap on your head and apply heat. Make sure the shower cap covers all of your hair and is securely fitted on your head. Use a hairdryer to heat your hair, but take care not to hold the heat on one spot for two long or you could potentially melt the plastic. The heat will help the shampoo strip your hair of color.[3]

If you don't have a plastic shower cap, you can use a plastic bag. Wrap it around your head and secure the opening in the front with a clip.

If one's available, you might also sit under a heated hair-dryer. This will distribute the heat evenly over your whole head.

Let your hair stay in the cap for 15 to 20 minutes. Once you have let it sit, rinse your hair thoroughly with warm water. Lather your hair with shampoo two more times, rinsing after each time you use the shampoo. When you are done rinsing, the foam should only have a hint of dye left.

Rinse your hair with cold water. To close the hair cuticles up, blast your hair with freezing cold water. This will help to ensure that your hair retains the nutrients and moisture it needs from the conditioner. You should see that the dye has faded to roughly 2/3rds of what is once was. Let your hair rest for a day and then repeat this process.[4]

Use 1,000 mg of vitamin C mixed with shampoo. You can buy vitamin C in packets, bottles, or as a powder. Place your vitamin C in a mixing bowl. If it is not already a powder, crush it up into a powder using the back of a spoon, a pestle, or, in a pinch, a hammer.[5]

Add shampoo to your vitamin C. You will want to use good shampoo that leaves your hair soft and healthy. Add a good amount (a little more than you normally would use) to your vitamin C and mix the two ingredients together. Make sure there aren't any lumps and that the powder is thoroughly mixed in.

You can also mix a little dish soap in with the shampoo and vitamin C if you want to boost the dye lifting power of this technique.[6]

Wet your hair with warm water and apply the mixture. Warm water really helps to open up your hair follicles, making it easier to remove the dye. Apply the shampoo mixture to your hair. Lather up to work it into your hair and coat each strand from root to tip.[7]

Clip your hair up and put a shower cap on. This method can be messy, so it is important to wear a shower cap while you wait for the treatment to work.[8] You should also wrap your shoulders in an old towel, as the dye tends to drip down. The shower cap should catch most of the drips, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

If you don't have a shower cap, you can also use a plastic bag clipped in the front, or cling wrap that has been wrapped around your hair.

Work conditioner into your to hair. This is important to do so that your hair does not dry out or become frizzy. This method works on both permanent and semi-permanent dyes, however everyone's hair is different. You may have to repeat these steps again if your dye is still noticeable. [10]

Run a bath and add bath salts. Bath salts, which can be purchased at drug stores, grocery stores, or at big box stores like Walmart, are known to fade blue and green semi-permanent hair dye. Run a bath with hot water and add a package of bath salts. Soak your hair for as long as possible in the tub. When you are done, your hair dye should be faded. You should then shampoo and condition your hair. Repeat this process in a day or two if necessary.[11]

You can also stop up a sink and add bath salts to that if you don't want to soak in the tub.

Use dish soap. Note that this will really dry out your hair so it is important to condition your hair well after using this method. Add four or five drops of dish soap to a quarter-sized amount of shampoo. Get your hair wet using hot water and then lather your hair with the shampoo mixture. Leave this mixture in for 10 minutes, then rinse.[12]

Spend more time outside. Exposing yourself to some natural sunlight over the course of a few days can also help to fade your hair color. Try going for a daily walk in the afternoon when the sun is at its brightest. Make sure to use sunscreen on your skin and do not spend too much time outside in the sun or your scalp may get burned.[13]

Use hairspray. Cover the colored hair with lots of "strong hold" hairspray. Sit in the sun for as long as possible. Then brush out the hairspray, wash with an anti-dandruff shampoo and condition well to restore the hair's softness.

Sit in the sun after going swimming in a chlorinated pool. While exposure to chlorine will not strip your hair of color immediately, going swimming in a chlorinated pool and exposing your hair to sunlight will begin to fade your dye.[14] However, you should always wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner after you have gone swimming. Do not expose yourself to so much sun that you end up getting burnt, as this could lead to skin cancer.

The best thing to do is consult a hair salon. If you want to try at home, use a color remover like Oops. This works well on permanent dyes and less so on semi-permanent, but it does tend to yield results. You can also bleach it out. And depending on the shade you originally used, you can dye over it. Be warned though that weird colors don't lift out in expected ways.

I don't recommend this, as I've tried it. The silver tone will not make much of a difference, since you need very light, almost white hair for it to even take. (Ion isn't a very good brand to use anyways, if you're using semi-permanent dye. The permanent is fine.)

About This Article

This article was co-authored by Ashley Adams. Ashley Adams is a Licensed Cosmetologist and Hair Stylist in Illinois. She completed her Cosmetology education at John Amico School of Hair Design in 2016.

To remove blue or green dye from your hair without bleach, start by mixing 1,000 mg of Vitamin C powder into a small bowl of shampoo. Then, wet your hair with warm water and shampoo your hair with the mixture. Once you’ve lathered up your hair, clip it up and cover it with a shower cap. Let the shampoo sit for 45 minutes, then rinse it out. Afterward, condition your hair so that it doesn’t become dried out and frizzy.

Reader Success Stories

Gloria Price

Aug 9, 2017

"I used the clarifying shampoo on my recently dyed haircolor disaster, and I was afraid to leave it on. So I just put it on as per the instructions herein, rubbed my hair strands a bit, and it did come off a lot! The color now looks choppy, but I am going to leave the clarifying shampoo on for 15-20 minutes as instructed here, followed by a deep conditioner. Wish me luck!"..." more

Rated this article:

EG

Elisa Gomes

Apr 9, 2016

"I was trying to get rid of my bright blue hair, and bleach only turned it green and fried my hair. So I tried the first tip minus the heat after soaking my hair in olive oil for 30 mins, and it worked wonders! After two washes, the green is almost gone!"..." more

MB

Melly B.

Aug 26, 2017

"I'm a frequent hair dyer, and you'd have thought that at the ripe old age of 31 I'd know what I'm doing, but sadly no. This helped strip the blue/pink from my blonde hair. I used the baking soda, dish soap and vitamin C all in one go, and it worked!"..." more

JB

Jackie Butler

Apr 20, 2017

"Just knowing I didn't have to go spend a bunch of money to get my blue hair dye out so I could go back with a different color was a huge relief. I usually don't go with crazy colors, but this was for a good cause, and I enjoyed it while it lasted."..." more

DK

Debi Karpp

Jul 15, 2018

"I haven't done this yet. Have purple streaks in my natural silver hair and have to get rid of it before school starts (I'm a teacher). So I will be doing the clarifying shampoo method. Wish me luck!"..." more

ML

Megan Lugo

Aug 18, 2016

"Baking soda and shampoo really helped me. It didn't take all of the purple out, but it lightened it a lot so I can dye it back to my natural color or let my natural color come back on its own."..." more

JB

Jackie Burnett

Jan 28, 2017

"I just recently bleached my hair from purple to blue at home, but now it's not only fading, but I have strands of yellow, blue and purple sticking out. Plus my hair is super damaged."..." more

HA

Hannah Amell

Mar 31, 2018

"I tried this twice. Both times took a significant amount of the green out, although it's still in there. I prefer this method to bleaching, since it does less damage. "..." more

Rated this article:

JS

Jae Smith

Jun 16, 2016

"They all work, but they take time. Don't get over-obsessed with trying to get rid of it all at once, it won't happen. Take it easy and take care of your hair."..." more

EL

Elina Lampinen

Jul 23, 2016

"I had green hair accidentally. I tried stripping the dye with the shampoo method. It worked. Now I have blond hair and little green here and there. "..." more

KP

Katie Phillips

Mar 12, 2017

"Both methods worked equally as well as the other. Between the two, I was able to remove the last of the green from the tips of my hair. "..." more

SM

Stacy M.

Jun 1, 2017

"Tried to throw in some peak-a-boo blue behind my ears and my family did not approve, so I had to fix it fast. Thanks for the tips!"..." more

Rated this article:

RM

Reyna Martinez

Jun 4, 2017

"I have greyish-green hair leftover from blue hair and this helped me lighten my hair without bleach so I can dye it pink."..." more

Rated this article:

AA

Addie Allen

Jul 27, 2016

"I had fun with my colored hair over the summer, but now its time to get rid of it. This article helped me so much."

EC

Ellen C.

Jun 21, 2016

"I didn't realize that washing my hair with hot water would open up the cuticles!"

VG

Vane Gonzalez

May 29, 2017

"I'm gonna try these tips to wash out the rainbow tones. Hope it helps. Thanks."